A Mexican senator wants the United States to return almost $2.3 million seized from an offshore bank account of a former treasurer of a Mexican border state who's accused of embezzling millions of dollars.

Coahuila Sen. Luis Fernando Salazar Femández of the National Action Party, or PAN by its Spanish abbreviation, submitted a claim for the money Wednesday in federal court in Corpus Christi — in a forfeiture lawsuit U.S. authorities filed last month against the $2.3 million.

Salazar says his claim is made on behalf of all of Coahuila's residents and notes the money was “embezzled and stolen” by ex-Coahuila Treasurer Hector Javier Villarreal and belongs to the state.

“We are encouraged with the efforts of the U.S. government to track down the assets that Villarreal has (allegedly) stolen from the state of Coahuila,” said attorney Brian Gillett of Susman Godfrey LLP in Houston, which represents Salazar. “We are optimistic that we will be able to return them to the rightful owner — the state of Coahuila.”

It wasn't immediately clear if U.S. federal prosecutors, based in Houston, would return the money as requested.

U.S. federal agents found the money in a Bermuda bank account linked to Villarreal, treasurer of the state of Coahuila from 2008 to 2011. He's accused of taking out millions in fraudulent loans on Coahuila state's credit.

The suit alleges that, with the help of his mistress, Villarreal transferred $35 million to the United States that he gained through the fraudulent loans.

That money was laundered in the U.S. and used to buy land, including commercial properties on San Antonio's North Side, and open bank accounts, according to court documents.

Villarreal, who last was seen a year ago in East Texas, is wanted on criminal charges in Mexico.

Coahuila's massive debt continued to hound Moreira, and he stepped down as head of the PRI at the end of 2011, with Mexico's presidential election looming.

Prosecutors claim Villarreal and an accomplice in Mexico's federal treasury would approve loan requests to Mexican banks. From July 2010 to March 2011, Coahuila received three fraudulent loans to the tune of 3 billion pesos, at the time about $246 million, according to the lawsuit.

The feds say Villarreal and his associates in the U.S received about $35 million of that.

Last year, prosecutors in San Antonio moved to seize $6.5 in bank accounts and properties they said were tied to Villarreal, including a CVS Pharmacy in Stone Oak, a strip center at Redland Road and U.S. 281, a mini storage facility on Loop 1604, a condo unit on South Padre Island and a number of commercial properties in Brownsville.

In Bexar County, First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg said Mexico has made no claim on the $6.5 million.

“The case is still pending and ownership of the seized funds has not been finally determined by a court,” Herberg said.

Likewise, the properties are tied up in federal court lawsuits in San Antonio. A review Friday showed Mexico has not made a claim in those either.

Villarreal, meanwhile, remains a fugitive. He was arrested on state charges in October 2011 in Mexico and released on bond. Shortly afterward, he entered the U.S. on a visa.

In February 2012, he was arrested by sheriff's deputies in East Texas, turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which released him. He now faces federal charges in Mexico as well but has yet to be found.